Every Thing Which Inviteth To Do Good

In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord gave us this injunction: “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118, 109:7).  Elsewhere the Lord also said that we should “study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people” (D&C 90:15).  This invitation to seek out the best books and to be acquainted with good books is to us an important reminder that we should not only seek for truth and light and wisdom from canonical scripture.  Of course the scriptures come first in authority and doctrine and wisdom, but we should not stop there in our quest for knowledge and understanding.  For me one of those books is Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, a story that teaches of love and forgiveness, of justice and mercy, of suffering and humility.  The incredible act of love of the Bishop of Digne in forgiving Jean Valjean to me represents the way Christ and His atonement can free us of our sins.  Recently Elder Renlund quoted the novel in general conference, and others including Elder Caussé, Elder Christofferson, Elder Ballard, and President Monson have likewise quoted from or referred to the novel in general conference.   The book has been a powerful source for good in its message of Christian love and hope despite the terrible suffering so many must endure in life.

                Given my conviction that Les Misérables is indeed one of these “best books” that the Lord referred to, I was perplexed and somewhat troubled to learn more about Victor Hugo this week as I browsed through his history online.  I learned that he was a man who had countless affairs with women and, according to one source, “gave free reign to his sensuality.”  He was no example of virtue or chastity and was totally unfaithful to his wife even though they were married for decades.  How does one who commits such serious sins give to the world a novel that is such a powerful force for good?  I think the answer lies in the fact that the Lord will give light and truth to whomever He sees fit in His divine purposes—just as the “the wind bloweth where it listeth” so too will the Lord give light to whomever He listeth.  The Lord told us that “the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit” (D&C 84:46).  I don’t think the Lord limits His Spirit to only those who fully keep His commandments (who would have any light then?), but on the other hand surely as we hearken to Him we can hope to receive more light and as we disobey we receive less.  King Benjamin put it this way, “I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples” (Mosiah 2:37).  The principle seems to be that the more we knowingly rebel against God’s commandments, the less His Spirit will be with us, or as the Lord put it in our dispensation: “For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation” (D&C 82:3).  He that “knoweth he rebelleth against God” is in a far worse state as someone who does the same things but has “ignorantly sinned,” and we cannot judge the level of understanding another has about the Lord’s laws (Mosiah 3:11-12).  The bottom line is that despite knowing someone’s actions, we cannot be the judge of their heart or their understanding of the Lord’s commandments or of their standing before Him.  If the Lord has chosen to give light to a sinner, rejecting that light because the giver was not fully good would be mistaken.  Anyone, sinner or saint, can give money to the poor, and a dollar from the unjust will do just as much good as a dollar from the just.  How the Lord will recompense the giver is in His hands and we “ought to say in [our] hearts—let God judge” (D&C 64:11).        

                So the real task for us is to seek out good and light and truth wherever it may be found, and we need not get too worried over the individual righteousness of authors or composers or givers of good things to society.  Our focus should be on determining if that which has been given to us—the book or the music or the speech—is truly “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” (Article of Faith 13).  Our focus needs to be on this teaching from Mormon as we seek out the best books and music and messages from all types of sources: “Every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.  But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil” (Moroni 7:16-17).  If something truly invites us to do good and believe in Christ, we need not be too concerned if that thing was given to us through imperfect hands.